Food Allergies? or what?

Okay so my chronic diarrhea started at the end of summer, I had been diagnosed with food allergies earlier that year. My allergies were to nuts and soy, so I continued to eat soybean oil and soy lecithin with really no problem. One day I went home and had really bad diarrhea and ever since then I have had recurring floating stools/diarrhea, although the diarrhea is not near what it was that day. I blamed soy for my allergies and I have been on and off eating soybean oil and days where I do not. I have had times where I have eaten soybean oil, like in deep fried foods and the following day have had no problem. I have days where I eat no soy and have problems, it is always different some days I suddenly have to poop more than others. I am thinking it is not soybean that is causing my loose stools, because I have had days where I have been fine after eating soy and I have never really had an true allergic symptoms ( like hives, itching, etc.) I had a blood test that showed Eosinophilia at around 11%, so I had been think bacterial overgrowth as a possible cause, considering the on and off flares. Do you have any ideas what this could be, all help is appreciated thank you.

[David Tinkelman, M.D.]

The information that you have provided suggests that the issue of nut and soy allergy, and the question of bowel disease secondary to those substances, remains unsettled.  While not to be abandoned the focus should be on the possibility of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) rather than on the question of nuts and soy being an ongoing causative agent or just the agents that precipitated bowel inflammation.  While tissue and blood eosinophils are a major component of active IBD, other bowel disorders, specifically Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis, can also be associated with elevated levels of eosinophils.

An increase in eosinophils can also be seen with parasitic disease, possibly acquired by a visit to geographic areas where parasitic disease is common.

After more than 6 months, it is time to stop speculating about the cause and arrange for consultation with your primary care physician and/or a specialist in Gastroenterology.  What you should not do is to just decide that you can live with the chronic diarrhea.  That would not be a good choice.

Good luck